Three-color cup of eyelash essence

Cheng Yu'an, no matter what he became later, in my memory he has always been that little man with long eyelashes.

Aunt Han is a recognized beauty in our Han Normal University staff housing compound.

Although he is only one year younger than my mother, he looks much younger and speaks softly.

Cheng Yu'an perfectly inherited Aunt Han's good looks, with fair skin and delicate features. The adults always praised Cheng Yu'an for being the most smart among our group of children.

At first I was very unconvinced, but after looking at him carefully, I had to admit that compared to his delicate appearance with a built-in filter, we were just wild kids playing around in the countryside.

But this comparison is limited to appearance.

At that time, Cheng Yuan was really inconspicuous among our group of kids.

He was a full eight months younger than us, a difference that was particularly noticeable during childhood.

He is always shorter than us and often lags behind us when we play.

For example, when an eagle catches chicks, he is always placed at the "tail" of the chick where he is most likely to be caught.

When playing war games, he was also the first one to "die".

If my mother hadn't reminded me every time before I went out, "Niannian, play with Yu'an well and don't bully him", I would have lost this little tail long ago.

————

My initial complex understanding of the creature "sister" came from my aunt's daughter, Sister Cheng Fan.

She is three years older than me and attends junior high school in another city.

At that time, the three-year age difference seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

When we were playing "Eagle Catches Chicken" at its craziest, she would lean against the door frame with her arms folded and say coldly, "Childish."

She had a beautiful floral wallet, and there was always a few dollars in it, which she could use to buy the bubble gum and Tang Monk meat that we had been craving for a long time.

When watching TV, she has absolute "channel priority".

When she looked at us, there was always a sense of superiority in her eyes as if she was just a mere mortal, which made me both envious and afraid.

But this sister Cheng Fan, who is so arrogant in my eyes, favors Cheng Yu'an without any principles.

I remember when she came to stay at my house, we children stood at the door to greet her in an orderly manner.

Sister Cheng Fan stood next to my aunt, wearing the most fashionable overalls at the time, with her ponytail tied high, looking very proud.

She glanced at our group of chattering kids, ignored me, and fixed her eyes on Cheng Yu'an at the back.

I saw her mouth open into an "O" shape, and then she exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Wow! Your eyelashes are so long that you can tie them into pigtails!"

That afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and beautiful golden sunlight shone through the leaves.

I saw Cheng Yu'an's face flush red, and we burst into laughter in the hallway.

During the days when Sister Cheng Fan stayed at my house, the topic of conversation was always Cheng Yu'an.

Cheng Yuan is long, Cheng Yuan is short, Cheng Yuan is on the left, Cheng Yuan is on the right.

Ye Zhixia asked me cautiously, "Niannian, why does Sister Chengfan like Yu'an so much? Is there some 'underlying story'?"

Although I didn't understand what the "inside story" specifically meant, I was also infected by this mysterious atmosphere and felt that the matter was very serious. Even the way I looked at Sister Cheng Fan became more scrutinizing and vigilant.

————

That day, I ran home sweating profusely after playing, and happened to see two boxes of ice cream "three-color cups" on the coffee table.

In that era when you could buy a popsicle for fifty cents, the three-color cup was a luxury, and only if I got full marks in a subject could I enjoy one or two.

The combination of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors is very tempting just thinking about it.

"Mother!"

"Mother!!"

I screamed all the way to the kitchen.

My mother was whispering to my aunt. Seeing that I was sweating profusely, she wiped my face with a towel in disgust.

I waved the towel away impatiently, "Mom, I want ice cream! The one on the coffee table!"

"I thought something happened, but it turns out it was because of this." The aunt, who was a little confused just now, burst into laughter.

My mother seemed to have long been accustomed to my clamoring. She wiped my face vigorously and said, "That was bought by your sister Cheng Fan. If you want to eat it, go and ask your sister."

————

Sister Cheng Fan was occupying the bedroom alone, enjoying the air conditioning and eating a box of three-color cups.

At that time, turning on the air conditioner at home was still a luxury. Every time I asked to turn it on, my mother would always nag me about the high electricity bill.

I curled my lips, feeling a little unbalanced, but thinking of the box of three-color cups, I put on a flattering smile and approached Sister Cheng Fan, calling out sweetly, "Sister Cheng Fan~~"

Maybe there really is some telepathy between sisters. As soon as I called her sister, she readily handed me another box of three-color cups.

I was so moved at the moment, and felt guilty inside. It seemed that I had wronged Sister Cheng Fan before. It turned out that she still loved me very much.

Just as I was immersed in the touching feeling of "sisterly love", Sister Cheng Fan said, "Send the ice cream to An. I need to recite English."

Then she pretended to be serious and put on her Walkman headphones, muttering to herself.

It’s Cheng Yu’an again!

Sister Cheng Fan, can we still be sisters happily?

Suddenly, thousands of alpaca horses galloped through my heart.

But faced with such a "hard-working" sister, I could only resign myself to my fate, pick up the box of ice cream, and walk towards Cheng Yuan's house.

Of course, most of the box of three-color cups ended up in my stomach.

Because I appeared in front of Cheng Yu'an with an angry look on my face and conveyed Sister Cheng Fan's good intentions, he was frightened by my fierce gaze. In the end, he very tactfully and respectfully pushed the ice cream back to me, "Niannian, you eat it."

Of course I accepted it without hesitation, and after finishing the ice cream, the heat disappeared completely.

When I got home, facing Sister Cheng Fan's questioning eyes, I remained calm and said calmly, "I sent it over."

Sister Cheng Fan nodded with satisfaction and continued her "English recitation".

Now that I think about it, Cheng Yu'an's understanding may be due to his special family environment.

Uncle Cheng is away from home most of the year, leaving only Cheng Yu'an and Aunt Han at home.

Every time Aunt Han came home from shopping, I could always see Cheng Yu'an jogging towards her through the window and taking the bag from Aunt Han without saying a word.

One day, I suddenly got curious and asked him, "Aren't those dishes heavy?"

Cheng Yuan nodded honestly, "It's heavy, but it's also heavy for my mom to carry."

At that moment, I looked at his pretty little face and long eyelashes, and suddenly I couldn't say anything else.

In the setting sun, I leaned against the window again and saw Cheng Yu'an run out to take the plastic bag as usual.

The bulging veins on his arms are the best evidence of his transformation from a little boy with long eyelashes into a little man.

Aunt Han smiled gently, rubbed his head, then put her arm around Cheng Yu'an's small shoulders and went home.

Facing the setting sun, their shadows were stretched very long...